This invention relates to a computer stand and, in particular, to a compact computer stand that can be easily moved from place to place and in which the computer monitor is mounted so that the operator stress and eye fatigue is considerably reduced.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,199 to Zigman there is described a computer terminal work station in which the visual display terminal or monitor is mounted behind the keyboard upon a platform so that the screen of the monitor can be moved by a complex brake mechanism between a vertical and horizontal position to help eliminate glare and to better accommodate operators who wear bi- or tri-focal eyeglasses. The work station is basically a cabinet that is designed to shield the monitor for overhead lighting. The cabinet has one open end at which the operator is seated. The components of the terminal are for the most part hidden inside the cabinet and therefore difficult to reach. As a consequence, the cabinet must be dismantled to gain access to various parts of the unit. This, of course, makes the adjusting and maintaining of the unit difficult and time consuming.
The enclosed box-like structure is not only confining but affords the operator no table space upon which he or she may place books and papers generally required to perform a computer related task. Rather than increasing operator efficiency, these confined work stations actually have the opposite effect on productivity.
A similar computer support terminal cabinet is disclosed by Lapeyre et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,026. Here again, the cabinet has the shape of an open sided box. The monitor is buried inside the box-like structure to shield it from ambient light. The disc drive is set on the top of the cabinet over the operator's head and cannot be reached without difficulty. As in the previously noted Zigman patent, the Lapeyre device affords little if any, access to the terminal components and provides an extremely cramped and confining work area. It also appears that the cabinet is dedicated to one specific computer terminal and cannot be adopted to accept other units.
Pemberton in U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,789 discloses a computer desk having a hinged top which, when raised, provides access to a computer terminal mounted inside the desk. The computer components occupy most of the desk space and leave little or no extra space for drawers and the like. Furthermore, the desk top must be completely cleared each time the top is raised to place the terminal in an operative position.
Schairbaum, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,866, also discloses a desk of somewhat similar construction to that disclosed by Pemberton wherein the monitor is suspended beneath a transparent desk top by means of an adjustable bracket. By selectively positioning the bracket, the monitor can be viewed by the operator seated at any given location about the desk. Again, the computer is confined to a single location and cannot be moved to another work station.
Cope et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,631, recognizes the need for a computer terminal stand that can be easily stored when not in use or, alternatively, can be shared by a number of workers situated at different work stations. The Cope et al device has a caster mounted frame that supports the horizontally aligned keyboard over which is supported a copy support shelf. Above and behind the copy support shelf is mounted an adjustable monitor platform. The monitor platform can be tilted upwardly so that the monitor screen looks down at an operator seated at the keyboard. This, of course, makes viewing of the screen extremely difficult particularly for operators required to wear bi-focal or tri-focal eyeglasses. An operator seated at the keyboard must constantly raise his or her head to view the screen. This can cause neck problems and increase operator fatigue. Cope et al makes no provision for storing a disc drive within the stand and apparently the stand can only be used with a terminal having a combined monitor and disc drive.